I don't know about this. I remember that at one point the voice actor of Raiden (Quinton Flynn) wasn't contacted when Metal Gear Rising was in development too and he got worried but ended up getting the job.

People is talking about Solid Snake doing a cameo in The Phantom Pain given that the story happens before the original Metal Gear in the timeline... *sigh* I have too many damn questions in my mind now. Exciting times to be a Metal Gear fan though.

I agree. I'll definitely be picking this up-- I've yet to be disappointed by a main MG title (well, okay, the plot in 2 was disappointing because it became insanity), and I definitely dig the new ideas Kojima's shooting for with this one.

"The interview Geoff Keighley conducted with Hideo Kojima at GDC 2013 will be posted online later this week. Via his Twitter, Keighley let us know that Kojima confirmed David Hayter won't be in the game. He also confirmed a lot of other things, but what exactly, Keighley didn't specify.

David Hayter, who has been the English voice actor for Snake since Metal Gear Solid in 1998, and for Big Boss in the later games, posted on his Twitter yesterday he had not been contacted for this new game. We can already hear Snake's new voice during the gameplay demo, and now Kojima has made it official.

What the reason is remains unknown, but Keighley confirmed Kojima will clarify this decision during the interview. It might have something to do with differentiating the changing character of Big Boss from his younger self (Naked Snake), and also from his 'son' Solid Snake. For such reasons, Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 4 was voiced by Richard Doyle, but he doesn't seem to be the current voice actor either. We will find out more when the interview airs."

Damn, I thought I was over MGS games, but this looks like it's going to be a riot. I've only ever played the main series games, so hopefully the story won't be lost on me. I have no interest in any portable MGS games. No David Hayter = : - (

Looks like I need to pony up and get the HD Collection for PS3. I've played MGS 1, 2, 3, 4, and Rising, but the story is so deep and I played them so long ago that most of the story has already been forgotten. I really didn't want to play any MGS portable games like Mark just said, but I might play Peacewalker since it is on the collection.

"At GDC 2013, Kojima Productions showed off their new engine, and how it can capture real life persons and objects into the game relatively easily using 3D scanning. One of the doctors in the beginning of the trailer giving ECM to Snake is actually a scan of one of KP’s staff members, character modeling artist Mike Fudge."

I have been up in Toronto, for the past eight months, directing my first film, (WOLVES -- 2013, TF1/COPPERHEART). On the December break, I came home to Los Angeles for the holidays. I heard then, that recording sessions for MG:V were being put together.

But I didn't hear anything about whether I'd be needed or not.

So, I got in touch with someone involved in the production. We got together for lunch, and he told me that they "wouldn't be needing me" on this game. No reason, or explanation was given beyond that.

And that was it.

I drove home through Laurel Canyon, bummed, and thinking about Snake.

To be clear, I love being a part of the world of Metal Gear. I admire its technological innovations, the gameplay, the political message of it all. But primarily, I love the fans of these games. Two grown men burst into tears upon meeting me at the Vancouver Fan Expo last year.

Now that... Is a rare and excellent role. You know you're making an impact.

And I love doing it.

In 1998, I tried to do come up with a voice which epitomized the kind of worn, put-upon, genetically-engineered clone-soldier that I saw Snake to be. Over time, as the games became more stunning and visually sophisticated, I tried to transition that initial voice into the increasingly real environments in which Snake found himself. My level of success is up to you, but any perceived deficiencies were not for lack of hard work. I have dedicated a huge amount of time and effort into creating a compelling character, capable of expressing the myriad emotional, physical and psychological hurdles that Snake has to face.

Anyway, now it's been fifteen years, nine games, and an enormous blast to undertake.

If it were my choice, I would do this role forever. To hear anyone else's voice coming from Snake's battered throat, makes me a little ill, to be honest.

But the truth is -- it's not my choice. Any and all casting decisions are the sole purview of Hideo Kojima, and Konami itself. And that's fair.

And I'll get by. I am not lacking for employment on any level.

But I didn't want anybody to think that I was intentionally abandoning them.